Mexican Red Knee

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dueser

Arachnopeon
Joined
Sep 13, 2009
Messages
10
I want to get a Mexican Red Knee. But the ones around me are to expensive the ones at Ken the bug guy are 200$ for an adult and i was not planning on spending that much money since its my first tarantula.


Thanks!
 
scottyk

scottyk

Arachnoangel
Old Timer
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Jun 17, 2006
Messages
824
Heck, I pull in an executive salary and don't have the cash to drop on the higher priced adults ;)

Your best bet will be one of the following two routes:

1- Just get a baby and raise it yourself. Once they get over 1", smithi slings are pretty durable. Patience may be a problem here.

2- Get an adult of a less expensive species first. It will give you some time to get your feet wet, and you can then get a small B. smithi to raise. It's easier to be patient with slings when you already have an adult or two in your collection...

Good luck!
Scott
 
S

satanslilhelper

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
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May 24, 2009
Messages
734
You can get a 2-2 1/2 in. for $33 from Paul Becker at Pet Center USA in the for sale/trade section on here.
 
curiousme

curiousme

Arachnoprince
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Messages
1,661
scottyk said:
........
Your best bet will be one of the following two routes:

1- Just get a baby and raise it yourself. Once they get over 1", smithi slings are pretty durable. Patience may be a problem here.

2- Get an adult of a less expensive species first. It will give you some time to get your feet wet, and you can then get a small B. smithi to raise. It's easier to be patient with slings when you already have an adult or two in your collection...

Good luck!
Scott
Click to expand...
Well said!:D That is what we did. We bought an adult G. rosea, A. metallica and a H. sp. Vietnam as adults and then started buying spiderlings. i ended up getting a surprise present of $100, so i laid down the cash($80 at LPS) to get a 3" B. smithi. It helps to have a couple adults around to keep things in perspective, but it truly is an experience to watch a spiderling grow, their colors becoming bolder and bolder with each molt.........Unless we see a deal that can't be passed up, we will continue to buy all of our Ts young and watch them grow. We are down to 2 adults and 17 spiderlings/ juvies at the moment.(but are getting 4 more babies Tues!)
 
A

Amelia

Arachnoknight
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Oct 3, 2007
Messages
198
I got my little baby smthi from Paul a few weeks ago. Doing great so far.

I chose to get slings (I have a B. smithi, a L. parahybana from Paul, and a B. emilia from Dave Grimm) because they were cheaper than adults, and I felt up to the challenge. Not to mention, I just love raising baby things. So far, they all seem to be doing well, and only the B. smithi hasn't molted in my care yet.
 
H

Hornets23

Arachnopeon
Joined
Mar 14, 2007
Messages
24
If you get a juvenile it wont cost nearly as much but will still have a lot of good color. Kind of a good compromise.
 
KenTheBugGuy

KenTheBugGuy

Arachnodemon
Old Timer
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Apr 10, 2007
Messages
676
sexing

So, I don't sex them at this size because without molts or good equipment I can't be 100% accurate. I also have so many I can't possibly sex them all.

By selling unsexed I can say they are truley a 50/50 chance at sexes. When I start sexing females out the probability of those buying unsexed to recieve females goes down. I do tend to set probable males just so the rare occasion someone does want a male that size I can provide it but as you all know everone wants a female :) and they can't all be females.....
 
micheldied

micheldied

Arachnoprince
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Jan 25, 2009
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1,327
dont really know why people say you should get adults first...
but IMO slings arent at all hard to raise.
fish are way harder.LOL
i agree,get the slings,i started with slings.
 
Talkenlate04

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
Old Timer
Joined
Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
I have well started slings as well. I won't put my price on here though.:)
Pm me if you are interested.
 
V

vohnholley

Arachnosquire
Old Timer
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Jun 12, 2009
Messages
120
I agree with the others, Get your smithi from paul since he has the best price going right now. I am personally very frugal so I dont want to spend alot to get what i want. I buy small and wait for good sales.
 
Talkenlate04

Talkenlate04

ArachnoGod
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Feb 13, 2006
Messages
8,656
vohnholley said:
I agree with the others, Get your smithi from paul since he has the best price going right now. I am personally very frugal so I dont want to spend alot to get what i want. I buy small and wait for good sales.
Click to expand...
I bet he does not have the best prices! I thought frugal people knew to shop around?{D
 
Mina

Mina

Arachnoking
Old Timer
Joined
Oct 4, 2005
Messages
2,136
Slings aren't hard to start with, they can just be a little unnerving at first. My first T was an adult female G. rosea, which was followed by slings. The first time I saw one I freaked out because of how small it was. Then the guy selling the little B. vagans to me proved how easy it would be to feed her, he pulled out a cricket bigger than the sling, crushed its head and dropped it in. As soon as I saw this little tiny thing grab that big cricket and drag it to one side of the vial and start eating, I wasn't nervous anymore.
 
Moltar

Moltar

ArachnoGod
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Apr 11, 2007
Messages
5,438
Just keep in mind that a B. smithi sling will take a looooooong time to mature. They stay tiny for a while.

I think a new T keeper would be better served getting a juvenile of a cheaper species or a sling of a faster growing species first/also, just so you don't lose interest. A tiny little baby spider that just never seems to grow can be a bit of a letdown to some people.
 
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